


Worlds Within

by Lisafer



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Friendship, Gigolas Week, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-19
Updated: 2014-02-19
Packaged: 2018-01-13 00:58:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1206910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lisafer/pseuds/Lisafer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>First they explore the Glittering Caves, then head to Fangorn - where each discover something for themselves in the world of the other.</p><p>Response to the Gigolas Week prompt #3: Fangorn/Glittering Caves</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“It... it's stunning,” Legolas said softly, following Gimli. The cavern ceiling was high above their heads, and shimmering stalactites and stalagmites made corridors for them to weave through. They were opalescent, and almost wet to the touch.

“You should not do that,” Gimli chided, knocking Legolas's hand away from the cool mineral formation. He led the elf further into the caves, pointing out veins of precious ore running through the walls, and showing off the colors of the pillars with the movement of his lantern. With one beckoning hand he urged Legolas onward, to a chamber whose floor was nearly filled with a pool of still water. 

“Just wait for it,” he whispered, his eyes fierce as they gazed upon the smooth surface. 

Legolas could not help but hold his breath, waiting for the miracle drop of water than Gimli had so lovingly described when they had first journeyed from Helm's Deep. When it finally fell to the pool with a melodic plink, the world wavered around him. The reflection of the shimmering, rose-colored towers changed suddenly to coral, and at once Legolas's heart lurched with longing. The sea. 

He stood swiftly, nearly striking his head in the process. “What else is there?” His voice, even to himself, seemed much colder and harsher than this expedition warranted. He could not hear the memories of the stone surrounding him, for his ears were filled with a steady roar that he imagined the waves of high seas held for travelers.

“Legolas, are you not well?” Gimli tugged at his arm with his free hand, pulling him closer in order to examine his face. “Do you feel trapped in here?”

“My friend, can we find another chamber to view? This one's beauty is too much for me.” It was not a lie, but it was not the truth, either.

Although he still frowned with concern, Gimli led him down a path to another room, this one smaller than the last. The ceiling was much lower, and Legolas found himself stooping. 

“I came this way that long night, but not much farther,” Gimli said. “We are a good distance from the cavern entrances, though – would you like to turn back? For there is something more I would show you, if you have the heart for it.”

“If it is something you think I would like, then I would have you share it with me.” The tightness in his throat and chest had subsided, and the wings of gulls no longer seemed to be beating against his very heart. He still longed – that would never leave him entirely – but the overwhelming urge had passed.

“This passage would need to be opened up a bit more, should I be allowed to bring some of my folk here.” 

Indeed, Legolas nearly had to drop to all fours in order to follow the dwarf through the small opening, but upon reaching the other side, he knew that if he had needed to slither along the uninviting ground like a serpent, it would have been worth it.

He was in the caverns, surround on three sides by rock. But Gimli's lantern was not needed in this room, for the third side was open. Sunlight shone into the cavern, filtered through tree branches that stretched far above an open portion of the cavern ceiling. 

“Tis a sinkhole,” said Gimli, beaming up at Legolas. “Natural sunshine and trees you can whisper to – just the thing for an elf who spent the afternoon in the dark underground.”

Legolas lightly hopped onto one of the fallen rocks in the center of the room, his face tilted up into the sunlight. “You came here that night?” he asked, his voice reverent. “Did you see the stars?”

“Aye.”

“Were they beautiful, framed by the trees above us?” 

“Yes. And above the trees, if you look to the north, there is the peak of the mountains.”

It was a marvelous view, for there was much green and plenty of sky. The summer breeze was fresh and warm, in a direct contrast to the cool air of the caves. Legolas felt as though the journey through the damp caverns were worth it, to be suddenly surrounded by this much air and light when it was least expected.

“What think you of my Glittering Caves now?” Gimli asked, coming to stand beside Legolas. “Should I bring my kin here, to open it up and make it even more of a marvel?”

“Is it safe? Or can enemies breech the caverns through this opening?” If a dwarven colony were to thrive here, it would need to be secure. And Legolas could not bear the idea of this chamber being permanently closed off from the rest.

“Nay, they would need to climb high into the mountains before this valley could be reached, and then would need grappling hooks and rope to climb down.”

“I would recommend a sentry, just the same, if this place is to be your home.”

“The near-sightedness of dwarves would render such a position useless. I could not see a man or orc on the ridge above us.”

“Then you would require an elf,” Legolas said, looking down at the dwarf. 

“If only there were one who could handle living in a cavern.”

“An elf of Mirkwood could do the job, I should think.”

“It would be a lonely life for that Mirkwood elf,” Gimli said softly, his eyes shifting away. “Away from his kind, surrounded by working dwarves.”

“He would have what he loved in this chamber. A view of the stars, trees to tell stories to.” 

“And what else?” Gimli asked, his voice gruff. “What else would an elf of Mirkwood love in this place?”

Legolas stepped off of the rock; his face was not even with Gimli's, but the height difference was muted. He leaned downward, pressing his forehead to the dwarf's. “He would love to have a dear friend with him. He would love to have an understanding – to know that he could journey from his home, be it in Mirkwood or Ithilien, and that his friend would be waiting for him – if not traveling with him. He would love the comfort of having his friend close, and knowing that they could retreat to his favorite place in the cave and know that they were completely alone.”

Gimli swallowed visibly. “Completely alone?”

“Completely alone,” Legolas repeated. He brought his hands up to Gimli's blessed head, his fingers tangling in his long hair. 

“And where could I find such an elf from Mirkwood?” Gimli asked, a glint in his eye that brought a smile to Legolas's lips. “Should I appeal to the Elvenking?”

“I think you would do better to appeal to his son.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Glittering Caves out of the way, they leave the Fellowship and go to Fangorn....

They had been walking for hours, stopping at every twisted, gnarled root that interested the elf. Examining every strange flower, listening to the way the leaves rustled in the breeze. It was enough to drive a patient dwarf mad.

And Gimli was not the most patient dwarf.

Is this how Legolas had felt, meandering through glorious caverns? At least he could listen to the secrets of the stone. Gimli, on the other hand, just felt strange – as though a thousand eyes were upon him. 

There was no rest for a dwarf in the world of Fangorn.

“Are you tiring, my friend?” Legolas asked, from his perch upon a low-hanging branch. The tree did not seem to mind his presence. If anything, the way the boughs swayed looked like preening.

“Aye,” Gimli admitted. “We spent so much time resting and lazing about it Minas Tirith that I’ve forgotten how tiring a journey can be.”

“Says the sturdy dwarf who ran five and forty leagues with little complaint.” Legolas smiled when Gimli raised his eyebrows questioningly. “Well, far less complaint than I would have expected,” he amended. “We shall find a nice place to stop for the evening, so you can sleep.”

“A fire would be pleasant, too,” Gimli said with a sigh. “The breezes in this forest bring nothing but chill. It’s possible to forget that it’s summer when we’re lost in such a density of branches and trunks. But I doubt these trees would allow such a thing, would they?”

“I do not think they would approve,” Legolas said absently. His eyes were locked on something in the distance – far beyond anything Gimli could see. “But I think I know something that could cheer you,” he said, dropping to the forest floor with barely a sound. His eyes were on the dwarf again, now vibrant and amused.

“And what would that be?” 

“A surprise. We need walk only a little while longer.”

The walk was not a short one. Up hills and following streams they journeyed, and the later afternoon sunlight was no longer penetrating the canopy of the forest. “Are we nearly there, Master Elf?” Gimli growled, trudging up yet another slope. 

“Master Elf?” Legolas questioned, turning back to face Gimli. “Have I been reduced to that in your eyes, all while trying to take you somewhere special? My dwarf, it would probably be best if you look around you and enjoy the marvel of nature. You will likely never see anything like it again, you know.”

Gimli glared. He did not think that was much of a threat.

He was short of breath when they reached the summit, but the sight around him was enough to take the rest of his air away completely. The forest still surrounded them, but they stood before an outcropping of rock with a waterfall. It was not grand and amazing, like the Great River – just a stream stumbling through the forest, with a drop barely higher than Legolas’s head. The rocky shelf was smooth and rounded from years of water, and behind the waterfall was a wide shelf. Wide enough for two to make camp.

“Do you mean to rest here?” Gimli asked, taking two halting steps toward the waterfall.

“I think you could even build a fire here, if you needed the warmth. The trees will not worry, if your fire is surrounded by rock and water.”

Making a camp was easy enough, when all they needed were bedrolls. Nothing would harm them in this forest, Legolas had insisted. There was no need for watches – but he promised Gimli that he would keep his eyes and ears open, all the same. 

After a quick meal of bread and cheese, and drink from their water skins – Gimli would not trust any drink from this forest – he was ready to collapse onto his bedroll and wash the day away with restful sleep. 

“Are you that tired?” Legolas asked from his crossed legged seat upon his own blanket. He still looked as though he perched like a bird, rather than looking like a creature whose bottom rested on solid rock. “Has this forest taken that much out of you?”

Gimli made himself comfortable on his makeshift bed. “No more than traveling underground took from you.”

“It did not take anything I wasn’t willing to give. Are you comforted by the rock around you? They have not seen your kind in a very long time.”

Gimli scowled. He did not begrudge Legolas his far-reaching sight or his keen hearing, but he could not help but feel annoyed when he spoke of the memories of earth and stone. “Being surrounded by stone feels as natural and right to me as trees and moss and grass feel to you.”

“It comforts me to have you at my side.”

“Yet you sit over there.” 

Legolas crawled over to Gimli’s side. “Literal dwarf,” he murmured, before lying down beside him. His body curled around Gimli’s shorter form, and his arm snaked about his torso. 

“Will we journey like this again?” Gimli asked, his voice gruff. He pressed one hand against Legolas’s, trapping him between hand and heart. “After you return to your father’s halls, will you stay there, or will you truly go to Ithilien or Minas Tirith?”

“I should like to see the Shire,” Legolas said. They were only three days gone from the remainder of the Fellowship, and while they enjoyed each other’s company, there was still a loss of companionship of the others. “Would you come with me, and cross the Misty Mountains again so we may see our friends together?” 

“Aye.” The darkness was still, and all they could hear was the steady fall of water into a deep pool beyond their small cave. “Tis a beautiful forest,” Gimli said at last. “I would come through here again, were you at my side.”

“It is as I told Treebeard: while you walk this earth, I shall not come to Fangorn alone.” He pressed his lips to Gimli’s temple, a whisper of a kiss.

“Do you realize what you say and do?” Gimli asked hoarsely, rolling his head to look at the elf. He was cushioning his head on his own arm, gazing at Gimli. He was relaxed, but ready to spring into action – like when he’d waited for the army at Helm’s Deep. 

“How can I not?” he replied, leaning impossibly closer. Gimli felt his breath on his cheek. “Let me make it clear, Gimli. I would walk where you walk and live where you live, if I knew it would bring you happiness. For I know it would bring me comfort and joy. What would it take for you to join me?”

“I know not. You may have to convince me.” Gimli gripped Legolas’s hand all the tighter.

“I can be very persuasive. Shall I show you?”

So it was decided, in that small cave surrounded by the densest of forests, that Legolas and Gimli would continue to travel together, for Gimli learned how swaying the elf could be when he truly desired something, and Legolas learned how easy it could be to move the dwarf, if approached the right way.


End file.
